Great book! Fascinating historical anecdotes, extensive descriptions of various craft-breweries and beers, and terrific photographs make for a fun and informative book. This is a must-read for anyone with a strong interest in beer...interest beyond gargantuan plastic mugs and flaccid, aluminum-flavored, fraternity party kegs of 'weak-weiser'!

In a very balanced way, between the " conaissance" and the simple language, it is a very good book. Most of the conseils and description of the beers of the world are correct. The others i'll try!

Turns a novice beer drinker (me) into a beer connoisseur! I consulted the guide before my last vacation and ended up at a great new brewery in my home town. It'll be a great holiday gift for my beer-guzzling friends!

Zen Among The Magnolias explores the integration of some of the practices of Zen and of Christianity. The author discusses the possibilities as people from different backgrounds seek a deeper meaning for their lives, without destroying their heritage, through such experiences as zazen, tai chi, ikebana,folk dancing, and the celebration of the litergy. He focuses on living in the present rather than in the past or the future. Wren explains a merging of asceticism and aesthetics which leads to a philosophy and theology that appreciates less as more, asymmetry, simplicity, tranquility, and the beauty of aging. He shows how through the parallels between the Four Noble Truths and Eight Fold Path of the Buddha and the Eight Beatitudes of Jesus, people become more sensitive to the problems of social justice. The result of an understanding of Zen through the nonverbal and nonimage form of pure contemplation called zzazen, Wren demonstrates, is an experience of depth and breadth into the root of one's own being. This practice does not discount a Christian background; instead, it leads to a deeper understanding of all aspects of life.

This was the first time I had read a book about linguistics. For some time I had heard about Benjamin Lee Whorf and his seminal work on American Indian languages. This is his most famous book, a book of some of his papers during the 30's and 40's.

Unfortunately, given my lack of linguistic knowledge I did not understand much of the terminology throughout his more academic papers such as "Some Verbal Categories of Hopi" or "Gestalt Technique of Stem Composition in Shawnee". Nevertheless there is plenty to read which discusses languages without too much academic terminology, although there is always some. His most interesting reads are the more general ones such as "Language, Mind and Reality" or "Language and Logic".

Whorf makes the fascinating assertion, new for his time, that the language we speak, to some degree at least, forces us to orient our view of the world in a certain direction, for example the noun based structure of Indo-European languages forces it into considering the world as made up of interacting fixed parts whereas Hopi doesn't even have a tense system and doesn't consider the past or the future and sees events as either manifest or unmanifest. A completely different way of viewing the world and yet possessing its own internal logic and ability to express whatever is necessary. This is something Whorf stresses throughout and the so-called `primitive' languages of for example, the native Americans, is far from this western perspective. In fact Hopi stands out as being a language ideally suited to the new physics.

Whorf really lives in two worlds regarding his linguistic studies 1. the fascinating metaphysical world of language constructions throughout the world, i.e. the world view generated by these languages and 2. the strict linguistic approach to languages with its own very formal and structured method to analyse languages, see for example the formulaic approach for one-syllable English words in the paper entitled "Linguistics as an Exact Science".

This book is worth it as no doubt the one by Sapir as well.

This book was required reading when I was in college, and it made such an impression on me that 50 years later I sought it out, and re-read it. Anyone interested in communication, and the impact language has on society ( or how society impacts language!) will find the examples of words used (and not used)in various cultures fascinating.

Whorf (1899-1941), trained as a chemical engineer, worked as a fire prevention consultant and did original work in linguistic anthropology. He remains best know for advocating that the structure of language not only reflects but influences our world view and behavior. "We dissect nature along lines laid down by our native languages. The categories and types that we isolate from the world of phenomena we do not find there because they stare every observer in the face; on the contrary, the world is presented in a kaleidoscopic flux of impressions which has to be organized by our minds--and this means largely by the linguistic systems in our minds. We cut nature up, organize it into concepts, and ascribe significances as we do, largely because we are parties to an agreement to organize it this way--an agreement that holds throughout our speech community and is codified in the patterns of our language" (213). This has been called "the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis," (acknowledging Whorf's mentor, linguistic anthropologist Edward Sapir) although it seems sufficiently general for many hypotheses to be derived from it. Alfred Korzybski independently developed similar notions, writing,"...we read unconsciously into the world the structure of the language we use" (Science and Sanity 60). Students of Korzybski's General Semantics have a particular concern for the practical implications and applications of such views. Read This Book!

My four year old boy, anthony, absolutely loves his "Benjy Book". I would recommend it to any parent of a kid under six.

Benjamin Franklin and his young apprentice (illegitimate son) are off on another adventure in 18th c London -- this time during the Christmas season in "Benjamin Franklin and a Case of Christmas Murder." I enjoyed the mystery on several levels. First, it's an old-fashioned mystery with enough clues given for readers to try to guess the outcome. Second, the holiday traditions of stirring the pudding, decorating with greenery and Morris dancers, add an additional colorful element. And third, there are numerous references to actual people and concerns of Franklin's years in England.

I bought this book at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia and I came to amazon.com to buy more books in the series. "Benjamin Franklin Takes the Case" is the first in a series of historical mysteries featuring -- surprise! -- Benjamin Franklin. His side-kick is Nicolas Handy, a young boy-of-work who Franklin rescues from a truly sinister situation in a London printshop. When Franklin arrives at the shop of Eben Inch, Printer, he discovers that the proprietor has been murdered. It turns out that Mr. Inch was the only person in the household who offered young Nick any kindness. Everyone else -- Dora Inch, her daughter Tilda, the apprentice Buck Duffin -- treated him horribly, so Mr. Franklin rescues him. Together, they set out to solve the mystery of Mr. Inch's murder.

I really enjoyed this book. It is extremely well-written, with interesting characters and a plausible mystery. It reminded me a lot of the Bruce Alexander series that features Sir John Fielding. In fact, Fielding is a character in "Benjamin Franklin Takes the Case." I'm anxious to read the next book in the series.

I read this book when I was in the eigth grade, that was 1969. It was spellbinding.....an account of cative torture was probably too unsettling for a thirteen year old, but otherwise, awesome. It introduced me to Comanche culture and started an interest in American Indian history that has continued to this day. Fabulous read!

If you have any knowledge of data mining then this book is a disappointment. It seemed more of thinly veiled advertisement for the software included in the book. I can see it having value for the neophyte who might need an introduction that includes software and actual examples, but professionals should skip it.

This is a well written and interesting book on a complex topic. I especially appreciated the first four chapters, which provide a good overview of estimation and classification, and chapters 10 through 12 which describe the main algorithms, training and testing and troubleshooting.

This was the text I've been looking for over the last year. It is organized in a very logical manner, first outlining the foundation knowledge necessary to begin understanding the data mining field. It then proceeds to outline the methods and models driving this exciting new field. My only complaint is that the CD Rom at the back requires a non-toll free phone call to get the necessary password before you can use the software, and then only for a finite period of time. But its of little significance compared to the wealth of information contained in this book for both experts and novices.

The latest version of this book is from 1988 and the book uses lots of traditional, but largely out of date corrections that have been replaced in most obedience training circles with postitive training techniques. I have elected to return the book instead of having my niece learn these dog obedience techniques.

This book has all u need to know from potty to exercise!

I'm still reading this book, the first one in this series that I've read. It seems to be accurate in its historical details, and the mystery itself is intriguing. But the incredibly annoying thing about it is the narrator's constant and continual references to past occurences in the series. I might have given it higher mark but for that.